1927 Bugatti 35B 1/24

[Plastheniker]

Hi,

probably the most fascinating sight in pre-war GP racing were the duels of the lightweight, small Bugatti 35B with only 2.3 litre displacement and the heavy, brute Mercedes SS/SSK/SSKL with 7 litre displacement. Someone called this vividly the fight between foil and battle-axe.

Monogram released an excellent kit of the 35B (not as stated 35 because of the supercharger) already in the seventies or eighties. Though the 35B was a pure racing car, some of them were fitted with fenders and lighting equipment and used as road cars. That is why the kit contains these parts, but of course I wanted to build a GP car in the French racing colour. I built my model in the early nineties.

Because of the outstanding quality of the kit building is a real pleasure. Hard to believe that this kit is so old. Carefully built and painted and with further detailing it makes a very attractive model.

A similar topic of mine:

1929 Mercedes SSKL 1/24 Conversion
http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=76128

[Chris White]

Wow you build rolling art

[Harry P.]

Beautiful!

Did you add the panel retention wiring, and if so, how did you do it?

[TooOld]

I agree , it's beautiful !

Your added details really make this a great looking model !

[Ace-Garageguy]

Beautiful model of a truly magnificent car. This kit is another of my all time favorites, but I've yet to complete one.

[slusher]

Gorgeous model...

[PappyD340]

MAGNIFICENT!!

[doctor phillips]

Well... here's my 2¢... GREAT job on this!!!!!

[Bastardo]

Going for the racing version was a good decision, Jürgen - this looks GREAT!

[Foxer]

Did you add the panel retention wiring, and if so, how did you do it?

I had the same question as Harry when seeing this. It really sets the model off!

[sjordan2]

Superb job on one of my favorite kits. I see you also added the brake cables, and it looks very much like you did replace the body safety wires (I agree with the others -- how did you do it?). This is a very big achievement on a very small kit.

[Ira]

Beautiful Work!

Very Realistic...

[crazyjim]

Fantastic and SHINY :)

[sjordan2]

Another question -- what brand and specific color of paint did you use?

Also, I'd like to see what you could do with Bburago's 1:18 Bugatti T59 kit (it's really closer to 1:15).

[peekay]

Really beautiful. The old Monogram kits were great and you've more than done justice to this one.

[Plastheniker]

Thanks for your interest and for your comments so far.

The wiring was a Bugatti-typical way of locking nuts/screws. There was no universal pattern, you find pictures that show cross-wise or zigzag patterns. Some non-historic photos show much more wiring, f. e. even on the small fairing in front of the steering wheel.

Harry, Mike, Skip, what I did was very simple. I removed the plastic moulding and scribed the panel line. For each side I looked for 2 bright soft wires of about 0.2(?)mm diameter: a shorter one as the locking wire, and a longer one as the "retainer wire". I drilled holes of 0.5mm where the 1:1 car has locked nuts/screws. I inserted the retainer wire from the inside into the first hole, pulled it through, and grabbing the locking wire I returned into the first hole and pulled the retainer wire tight. Then with the same retainer wire I went to the second hole, again inserted it from the inside, pulled it through, and grabbing the locking wire I returned into the second hole and pulled the retainer wire tight - and so on and so on. When everything was finished I secured all wires by applying a small amount of liquid super glue into each hole from the inside, and let it dry thoroughly. In order to restore a smooth interior I sanded off all interior wiring cautiously.

I hope this was understandable.

Skip, my experiences with acrylic paints tell me that solvent-based paints are unsurpassed. When I need small amounts of paint I use Humbrol because I never had problems with Humbrol paints and because they are easy to obtain. I avoid the (in Germany) ubiquitous but often poor Revell paints. I never use Tamiya paints because in the seventies Tamiya sold rattle cans with a paint that was removed simply by touching the model - in case of a spoilt model I am unforgiving.

When I need larger amounts of paint (f. e. for trucks and trailers) I use automotive paints or simply paints from house improvement stores. After applying the paint I never found any difference between them and modeling paints.

When mixing paints I write down what I use. In case of this model my note reads: "Humbrol #14 (French Blue) brightened with a small amount of bright blue".

[bbowser]

Great model Jurgen. I got to see a 1:1 this year at the Stowe car show and was blown away by the cable-actuated brakes, just like my old 10 speed. They are very small in person.

[Guest]

Beautiful!

[bondo bill]

sweet build

[Danno]

That is pure, unadulterated beautiful-car sexiness!

Gorgeous.